Healthcare processes and IT: Exploring Productivity Gains through Improved Allocative Efficiency

The benefits of health information technology (HIT) are widely accepted. Nonetheless, how HIT becomes embedded and transforms health-care processes remain an understudied area in the literature. In this study we extend prior research by undertaking a more granular examination of HIT systems’ impact on how non-IT resources are allocated to healthcare tasks and routines. The context of our research is a natural field study whereby an acute-care hospital implemented telemedicine as a tool to consult its geriatric patients. We collected and analyzed resource and patient consultation level data, both pre and post technology use to quantify possible shifts in resource allocations as well as cost efficiencies over time. Our findings suggest that HIT affords changes to non-IT resource allocations in clinical work processes which lead to changes in cost efficiencies. Depending on the nature of these non-IT resource re-allocations, cost efficiencies may not always be improved

Volunteer Web Site Effectiveness: Attracting Volunteers via the Web

Volunteer programs are shifting towards the use of web sites to recruit volunteers. Using previously recommended practices for web site management, the authors analyzed 93 web sites of volunteer-based animal welfare organizations regarding 14 best practices in web design and management. On average, the organizations used nine of the 14 best practices. The most commonly used practices included (1) providing a link to the volunteer program web page and (2) providing an organizational mission statement. The least commonly used practices included (1) providing information for future orientation sessions and (2) providing a volunteer program mission statement. Analyses further indicated that the number of best practices used is related to the number of volunteers at each program even after controlling for the overall size of the organization or the availability of resources (i.e., total revenue). Implications for volunteer resource managers are discussed

Production of Bio-polymer by Enterococcusfaecium no. 78 (PNCM-BIOTECH 10375)

The purpose of this project is to identify the viability of the microorganism Enterococcus faecium no. 78 (PNCM-BIOTECH 10375) of synthesize biopolymer under fermentation. It is reported that E. faecium CRL201 is capable of producing capsular polysaccharide (CPS). Therefore, E. faecium was grown under different fermentation conditions using Liquefied Sago Starch (LSS) at the concentrations of 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 g/l. The fermentation conditions for the bacteria were fixed at a pH of 6.5, temperature of 30°C and agitation speed of 250 rpm. The results showed that E. faecium is able to produce CPS, however, it was associatted with the concentration of substrate. The exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced was around 20% of the substrate feed. It was clear that the lactic acid produced is a product apart of lactic acid. In the case of lactic acid only 31.89 g was produced from 55 g of substrated provided. It was demonstrated that E. faecium produced EPS at any concentration of substrate tested. Therefore, it could be worthy to evaluate the overall costing of LA production as well as its polymeric composition in order to have a clear panorama of the potential of this strain for industrial application

Using the Web to Effectively Attract Volunteers to Non-Profit Organizations

Non-profit organizations often rely on volunteers to help staff and sustain organizational services, functions, and programs. The web is a critical vehicle for attracting these needed volunteers. The authors searched the available literature and reviewed close to 100 non-profit organizational websites to identify best practices of note. Fourteen best practices in web site design are forwarded and discussed

Genome analysis of a new Rhodothermaceae strain isolated from a hot spring

A bacterial strain, designated RA, was isolated from water sample of a hot spring on Langkawi Island of Malaysia using marine agar. Strain RA is an aerophilic and thermophilic microorganism that grows optimally at 50-60°C and is capable of growing in marine broth containing 1-10% (w/v) NaCl. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis demonstrated that this strain is most closely related (<90% sequence identity) to Rhodothermaceae, which currently comprises of six genera: Rhodothermus (two species), Salinibacter (three species), Salisaeta (one species), Rubricoccus (one species), Rubrivirga (one species), and Longimonas (one species). Notably, analysis of average nucleotide identity (ANI) values indicated that strain RA may represent the first member of a novel genus of Rhodothermaceae. The draft genome of strain RA is 4,616,094 bp with 3630 protein-coding gene sequences. Its GC content is 68.3%, which is higher than that of most other genomes of Rhodothermaceae. Strain RA has genes for sulfate permease and arylsulfatase to withstand the high sulfur and sulfate contents of the hot spring. Putative genes encoding proteins involved in adaptation to osmotic stress were identified which encode proteins namely Na+/H+ antiporters, a sodium/solute symporter, a sodium/glutamate symporter, trehalose synthase, malto-oligosyltrehalose synthase, choline-sulfatase, potassium uptake proteins (TrkA and TrkH), osmotically inducible protein C, and the K+ channel histidine kinase KdpD. Furthermore, genome description of strain RA and comparative genome studies in relation to other related genera provide an overview of the uniqueness of this bacterium

Aesthetic Experience and Acceptance of Human Computation Games

Human computation games (HCGs) are applications that leverage games to solve computational problems that are out reach of the capacity of computers. Game aesthetics are critical for HCG acceptance, and the game elements should motivate users to contribute time and effort. In this paper, we examine the effect of aesthetic experience on intention to use HCGs. A between-subjects experiment was conducted to compare a HCG and a human computation system (HCS). Results demonstrated that HCGs provided a greater sense of aesthetic experience and attracted more intentional usage than HCSs. Implications of this study are discussed.Accepted versio

Cardiovascular Outcomes in Acute Coronary Syndrome and Malnutrition: A Meta-Analysis of Nutritional Assessment Tools

Background: There is emerging evidence that malnutrition is associated with poor prognosis among patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). // Objectives: This study seeks to elucidate the prognostic impact of malnutrition in patients with ACS and provide a quantitative review of most commonly used nutritional assessment tools. // Methods: Medline and Embase were searched for studies reporting outcomes in patients with malnutrition and ACS. Nutritional screening tools of interest included the Prognostic Nutrition Index, Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index, and Controlling Nutritional Status. A comparative meta-analysis was used to estimate the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events based on the presence of malnutrition and stratified according to ACS type, ACS intervention, ethnicity, and income. // Results: Thirty studies comprising 37,303 patients with ACS were included, of whom 33.5% had malnutrition. In the population with malnutrition, the pooled mortality rate was 20.59% (95% CI: 14.95%-27.67%). Malnutrition was significantly associated with all-cause mortality risk after adjusting for confounders including age and left ventricular ejection fraction (adjusted HR: 2.66, 95% CI: 1.78-3.96, P = 0.004). There was excess mortality in the group with malnutrition regardless of ACS type (P = 0.132), ethnicity (P = 0.245), and income status (P = 0.058). Subgroup analysis demonstrated no statistically significant difference in mortality risk between individuals with and without malnutrition (P = 0.499) when using Controlling Nutritional Status (OR: 7.80, 95% CI: 2.17-28.07, P = 0.011), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (OR: 4.30, 95% CI: 2.78-6.66, P < 0.001), and Prognostic Nutrition Index (OR: 4.67, 95% CI: 2.38-9.17, P = 0.023). // Conclusions: Malnutrition was significantly associated with all-cause mortality risk following ACS, regardless of ACS type, ethnicity, and income status, underscoring the importance of screening and interventional strategies for patients with malnutrition

Establishing a core outcome set for peritoneal dialysis : report of the SONG-PD (standardized outcomes in nephrology-peritoneal dialysis) consensus workshop

Outcomes reported in randomized controlled trials in peritoneal dialysis (PD) are diverse, are measured inconsistently, and may not be important to patients, families, and clinicians. The Standardized Outcomes in Nephrology-Peritoneal Dialysis (SONG-PD) initiative aims to establish a core outcome set for trials in PD based on the shared priorities of all stakeholders. We convened an international SONG-PD stakeholder consensus workshop in May 2018 in Vancouver, Canada. Nineteen patients/caregivers and 51 health professionals attended. Participants discussed core outcome domains and implementation in trials in PD. Four themes relating to the formation of core outcome domains were identified: life participation as a main goal of PD, impact of fatigue, empowerment for preparation and planning, and separation of contributing factors from core factors. Considerations for implementation were identified: standardizing patient-reported outcomes, requiring a validated and feasible measure, simplicity of binary outcomes, responsiveness to interventions, and using positive terminology. All stakeholders supported inclusion of PD-related infection, cardiovascular disease, mortality, technique survival, and life participation as the core outcome domains for PD

Draft Genome Sequence of the Sulfate-Reducing Bacterium <i>Desulfotomaculum copahuensis</i> Strain CINDEFI1 Isolated from the Geothermal Copahue System, Neuquén, Argentina

Desulfotomaculum copahuensis strain CINDEFI1 is a novel spore-forming sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated from the Copahue volcano area, Argentina. Here, we present its draft genome in which we found genes related with the anaerobic respiration of sulfur compounds similar to those present in the Copahue environment.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriale